Orange County Fire Chief: Dead Vegetation That’s Still on Hillsides Is Helping Fires Spread Faster

On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox News @ Night,” Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy stated that vegetation died due to years of drought in the state and “All that dead, dry chaparral is still on those hillsides, it’s mixed in with the green, live brush that eventually dies. So, that also contributes to the rapid spread that we’re seeing with these fires. … That dead vegetation still is up on the side of those mountains.”

Fennessy said, [relevant remarks begin around 3:30] “[A] lot of people don’t realize…that we went through many years of drought here before we had those two years you’re talking about of rain. And once the southern California chaparral dies — it’s generally drought resistant, but it can’t survive more than three or four years without the water it needs.”

He continued, “Well, all that dead, dry chaparral is still on those hillsides, it’s mixed in with the green, live brush that eventually dies. So, that also contributes to the rapid spread that we’re seeing with these fires. So, let’s not forget, we went through nearly ten years of drought. That dead vegetation still is up on the side of those mountains.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett